Swords are Still Deadly

For a number of years I studied Gumdo which is a Korean form of swordsmanship. Over the course of study I attained skill enough that I was allowed to purchase an actual cutting blade (that is a sword with a sharp edge)
in order to practice cutting exercises which included cutting through bundles of straw or bamboo. I have kept the sword with me since then even though I don't practice regularly anymore. I've often been asked though if I'm a violent person or whether or not I have ever intended to use that sword in real life. I can't say that I am violent or that I would ever consider using that sword to defend myself (if the need was there) but there are others who aren't so discriminating.

Over the past few weeks in the news I've been seeing more and more references to sword attacks. Take for example the case of a student in Baltimore close to Johns Hopkins University. The student was staying in a townhouse which had been burglarized several times and as he was sitting at home one evening he realized that someone was once again in his garage. Not sure of what the would-be theives were up to, he armed himself with a samurai sword which he had in the house and went into the garage to check out what was happening. In the garage he found the thief rooting around in the garage. The student repeatedly asked the thief to leave but he refused and began to attack the student so the student defended himself by swinging the sword around.

The student ended up cutting off the thief's hand and administering several cuts which led to his starting to scream like a banshee. Neighbors called the police and soon the paramedics arrived to help save the thief's life. Now some have argued saying that the student should be brought up on charges for injuring the thief. They say that he had pre-meditated thoughts of murder (or attempted murder in this case) as evidenced by the fact that he knowingly carried the sword into the garage when he realized that someone was in there. Now I argue the contrary. What if he had gone into the garage with a rolling pin? Would it have been viewed in the same way? If I am going to defend my home then I'd do it with something that would intimidate or scare off a thief. I think a sword qualifies, but if the thief thinks that the victim is too scared to use it and decides to attack, then it's his fault for having assumed wrongly.

Now not everyone is busy defending their home with a sword. On the contrary, there are some who definitely need to have a stern talking-to. Take for example the recent case of a guy in Texas who began attacking his roommates with a sword. Here also there was justification (or at least he believed it was justified). The swordsman in this case came home to find a soda can in his room and deduced that someone had entered his room without permission. After confronting his roommates about it he concluded that someone wasn't telling the truth and decided to exact the truth by any means necessary and proceeded to perform his interrogation with the assistance of a sword which he happened to have. The two roommates barricaded themselves in another bedroom while the swordsman began hacking away at the door. Thankfully the door held long enough for the police to arrive and put an end to the mayhem.

But I suppose this shows that even today, swords can be an effective and deadly weapon. In the hands of someone who knows what he's doing (as was apparently the case in Baltimore) you can certainly do a lot of damage and recreate scenes reminiscent of "The Empire Strikes Back" or you can go mindless and attempt to hack down a door. Regardless, swords continue to be a dangerous and deadly weapons which should also be regulated in how they are handed out. I remember being in class when I learned to use a sword and I felt real terror in seeing how some students had a blatant disregard for their safety and the safety of those around them. I'm not arguing that they should require licenses like guns but I think some modicum of restricted access will make sure we have less incidents of swordly misconduct.